And it leads many to feel like they’re being overly indulgent (and hence selfish) when trying to set aside time for themselves. The problem with this definition is that it’s simultaneously too narrow and wrong. They start with the obvious (exercise, getting enough sleep and eating well).īut once we drill down, they end up defining it as something that helps them to feel good, be in better physical shape and/or escape from life’s many obligations.

When I ask clients struggling with self-care guilt to define what self-care is, they often have trouble.

Reason #1 for Feeling Guilty About Self-Care: Your Self-Care Definition Let’s break down the five most common causes of self-care guilt so that you can finally prioritize self-care without guilt, apology or shame. That means that if you want to ditch the self-care guilt, you need to gain better insight behind why you feel guilty (or selfish, or as if you need to apologize) any time you try to devote time to self-care. The problem is that self-care guilt is complicated – there’s often more than one cause for it. Why You Feel Guilty About Taking Care of YourselfĪlthough it’s common to feel guilty about taking care of yourself, it’s not mandatory.

Guilt-Free Self-Care Step #4: Create a Support System.

Guilt-Free Self-Care Step #3: Create Simple, Flexible Routines and Habits.

Guilt-Free Self-Care Step #2: Identify What Works (and What Doesn’t).

Guilt-Free Self-Care Step #1: Assess What You Need.

Your Next Steps To Guilt-Free Self-Care.

Take Control of Your Time by Logging It.

Reason #5 for Feeling Guilty About Taking Care of Yourself: Your Time Isn’t Your Own.

Reason #4 for Self-Care Guilt: You Feel Obligated to Say Yes (To Everyone Except Yourself).

Achievement-Based Success Makes Things Too Hard.

How You View Success Affects How You View Yourself (and Hence Your Self-Worth).

Success Isn’t Solely Dependent On How Hard You Work (Or The Quality Of Your Plan).

Reason #3 For Feeling Guilty About Self-Care: Success Is Defined As Achievement.

How to Change Your Self-Care Equation By Getting It Off Your To-Do List.

Reason #2 for Feeling Guilty About Taking Care of Yourself: Self-Care As A Zero-Sum Game.

How to Redefine Self-Care (the Right Way).

Reason #1 for Feeling Guilty About Self-Care: Your Self-Care Definition.

Why You Feel Guilty About Taking Care of Yourself.

You're doing it wrong achievement